Captain Titus' Discharge
by Argonaut57
Summary: An Ork Waagh, a Chaos invasion, accused of heresy - it's been quite a day for Captain Titus of the Ultramarines. And it's not over yet. Enter the Doctor! One shot based on the PS3 game


**Captain Titus' Discharge**

Titus waited. This was not difficult; the life of a soldier consists of waiting, long periods of waiting between episodes of pure terror. The _Adeptus Astartes_ might not feel fear as ordinary humans felt it, but they were not wholly immune to it.

A Black Templar Apothecary had attended to his wounds, he had been given a meal, and the Spartan room he had been escorted to was more than adequate for his needs. The Templars, and indeed Inquisitor Thrax, had been entirely courteous. But doubtless they wanted him healthy and prepared for what could only be a harsh examination. What they might find, he could not guess. His ability to resist the Warp had been of military use in the battle on Graia – the besieged Forge World he and his Company had been assigned to defend – but he knew no more than they of its origins or nature.

The massive Ork-Waagh of Warboss Grimskull had been no more than a prelude to a full scale invasion of Chaos, led by the daemon Nemeroth, who had sought to become a Chaos God. After a long and costly fight, Titus had finally confronted the daemon and, inexplicably able to resist its warp energies, had killed the beast with his bare hands. His reward was to be handed over to the Inquisition by one of his own men. His voluntary surrender had preserved the honour of his Chapter untainted, and saved the Cadian Lieutenant, Mira, who had been so steadfast a defender of the Imperium and had won Titus' admiration.

Now he waited.

"You do bring me to some nice places!" Rose Tyler turned to the Doctor, who still stood by the door of the TARDIS. "What is this? Goth Central?" She indicated the ubiquitous skull badges that decorated almost every surface. "Or Pirate City?"

The Doctor shook his head, then looked around curiously. "We've come a long way." He said. "This is the 41st Millennium, the Imperium of Man."

"I thought it was the Great and Bountiful Human Empire?" Rose was bemused.

"That was before, and after, this." The Doctor explained. "This is a sort of interlude. Right now, across the entire Galaxy, there is only war."

"Charming!" Rose declared. "So this is what?"

"A ship." The Doctor replied, pointing above and behind her.

Rose turned and looked, above a large door a name was picked out in an ornate Gothic script: "_Scourge of Heresy_," she read, "Not a pleasure cruiser, then?"

The Doctor grinned widely. "Not even close! This is an Inquisitorial Battle-Barge. I didn't expect that."

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Rose quipped, and the Doctor laughed, then sobered.

"The TARDIS brought us here for a reason, and He'll know I'm here, He always does. That could be good, or it could be bad."

"Who's He?" Rose wanted to know.

Then the door banged open and six towering figures strode through. Rose couldn't tell if they were humans or robots. They were certainly covered in heavy armour, and carrying exceptionally large and nasty-looking guns in a way that indicated they were very familiar with their use. The armour was in a black, white and red colour scheme, with Maltese Crosses on the pauldrons. They were, Rose estimated, all about seven and a half feet tall, and built like brick...walls.

Without speaking, the armoured figures surrounded the Doctor and Rose, herding them together in the centre of the room. They didn't point their weapons, in fact they seemed to be acting more as bodyguards than captors.

"What are these?" Rose asked quizzically. "Goth Cybermen?"

The Doctor shook his head again. "_Adeptus Astartes_," he said. "Space Marines. Genetically-engineered super-soldiers, committed to the defence of humanity. Well, that's the advertising, anyway.

"These Marines belong to the Black Templars Chapter," He went on, "Loyalist Second Founding Chapter, crusaders and watch-dogs for the Inquisition. Yes, there are men – very large men – inside those suits. And they don't talk much. Or make very good tea. Well, the White Scars do, but none of the others."

"It would appear," another voice interrupted, "that your knowledge in some matters exceeds mine. I was not aware of the White Scars' proficiency in herbal infusions."

The voice was not loud, but it carried an assumption of authority that Rose knew was going to irritate the Doctor the way a red rag irritates a bull. She was right.

"Oh, my knowledge in almost every matter exceeds yours. Or anyone else's." The Doctor announced in that deceptively cheery way he had.

The Templars in front of them moved aside to let them see the newcomer. The man was tall, which is to say he was _normally_ tall, just over six feet, and looked to be in his late sixties. He wore armour, lighter than the Marines, with a kind of black cloak or coat over it. His face was at once stern and kindly, his eyes rather sad than anything else.

"I am Inquisitor Thrax, of the _Ordo Hereticus_. And you, my Lord, are the Doctor, the Lord of Time. I do you homage in the name of the Emperor."

The old man began to kneel (moving rather fluidly despite his age) and the Doctor gestured impatiently.

"Don't!" He said crossly. "Don't bow, or kneel, or salute, or anything. Not to me."

Thrax looked puzzled. "My Lord, how else should a loyal servant of the Imperium greet one who has spoken with the Emperor Himself? One the Emperor called friend?"

"Well the Emperor used to say 'Hello, Doctor'," The TimeLord told him. "If it was good enough for Him, it should be for you.

"Anyway, how do you know me?"

Thrax pointed behind the Doctor at the TARDIS. "I did not know you, Doctor, until I saw that. The internal sensors indicated that a Xeno had arrived on the ship. A scan revealed a unique physiology, one long stored in the Imperial database along with an image of that blue box and a warning. The warning was that the Lord of Time often changes his appearance, but his craft does not.

"Now, how can we serve you?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Lunch might be nice." He replied. "If you know so much about me, you should know that I very seldom know why the TARDIS brings me to a particular place or time."

Thrax gave a smile – like his whole expression, it was tinged with sadness. "We have only the poor rations of soldiers in the field, Lord Doctor, but when the mess-hall opens, we will entertain you as best we may." He turned to Rose. "You must be the Companion. The records say that there is often a Companion. What is your name, child?"

_He's old enough to call me 'child'_ Rose decided. "Hi!" She said brightly. "I'm Rose Tyler. I didn't expect the Imperial Inquisition!"

"Nobody expects the Imperial Inquisition!" Thrax stated, his eyes suddenly glinting with humour. "Among our greatest weapons are surprise, fear, an almost fanatical devotion to the Emperor..."

"And nice black uniforms!" Rose finished with a delighted laugh. Thrax smiled more broadly and bowed his head.

"It seems you are a scholar in the Profane Writings." He said. "The _Ordo Hereticus_ studies the use of this 'comedy'. It may in time become useful in comforting our workers. If it proves not to be heretical."

"It's always worked before!" Rose told him.

Thrax bowed his head again, then turned to the Doctor. "Lord Doctor, since you appear to be at leisure for this time, there are matters on which I would wish to consult you."

"Oh, consult away!" Said the Doctor. "I'm brilliant at consulting! Well, I'm brilliant at everything, really. But drop the 'Lord' bit, it's just Doctor."

"We wouldn't want him getting big-headed, would we?" Rose remarked. Thrax smiled again and one of the Templars seemed to be overcome with a fit of coughing.

Thrax indicated that they should follow him, and the small cavalcade moved out into a gloomy corridor. Rose had long ago become accustomed to the fact that, whatever might happen on the _USS Enterprise_, most real spaceships seemed to be owned by people who wanted to save on the electric! As they walked, Thrax explained:

"I currently have in my custody a Captain of the Ultramarines named Titus. His career has thus far been extremely distinguished, but in a recent conflict on a nearby Forge World, he showed an unexpected and inexplicable ability to resist the Warp.

"All our writings indicate this to be an infallible sign of corruption and heresy, and as such, the matter was reported to us by one of Titus' battle brothers..."

"One of his mates grassed him up?" Rose was outraged. "You don't do that, I mean you just don't!"

"Captain Titus indicated as much, though rather less directly, when he surrendered to me." Thrax told her. "I find myself in sympathy, as a man, but my office compels me to investigate the matter.

"Titus's behaviour throughout has been impeccable, and for this reason I have accepted his _parole_. He has been permitted to retain his armour and his weapons have been placed in safe keeping. I have not confined him to the dungeon, but rather given him crew quarters.

"But in the interim, we have thoroughly scanned him, and it is time that we examined both the results and Titus himself. I have ordered him brought to the Inquisitorium, and I request, Doctor, that you assist me in my inquiry."

"I won't have anything to do with torture!" The Doctor stated flatly.

Thrax nodded. "Quite so. But you of all men, Doctor, should know that torture is the most useless of techniques when applied to an _Astartes_. We will scan, examine and question. Titus seems as curious about his ability as I am, so he will co-operate as best he can. If he is indeed tainted, the Chaos-Spawn within him will try to seize control and protect itself, and if that happens, we will have our proof."

The Inquisitorium was the brightest room Rose had seen so far. If anything, it was too bright, lined with computer screens and with actinic blue-white lights that focused on a heavy chair in the centre of the chamber. The chair appeared to be part of a large array of technology, with functions Rose couldn't guess at and didn't want to think about.

No sooner had they arrived than the great doors at the other end opened, and two Space Marines walked in. One was a Templar. The other, Rose guessed, was Captain Titus. His armour was blue, with gold edging, and the Greek letter Omega on the pauldrons. He wore no helmet and his face was, if not exactly handsome, then certainly appealing, despite the scars. He seemed perfectly calm and collected, but gazed at the Doctor and Rose with alert curiosity.

_His eyes are so gentle. _Rose thought.

"Captain, please take your seat on the Throne of Truth." Thrax said solemnly. Titus complied, and the Templar who was escorting him reached for a lever, but Thrax intervened. "We will not need the restraints at the moment, Captain Bois-Guilbert, but stand ready."

"As the Inquisitor wishes." Despite the hollow sound imparted by the helmet, the voice was soft and dangerous.

Thrax busied himself at the controls. "We will begin by examining your genetic code, Captain. The Chapter Librarians on Macragge have supplied your records. The Throne will scan your current pattern and we will see if there are any alterations."

After a moment, a bell sounded and one of the screens showed two patterns. Like most 21st Century people, Rose recognised the double-helix pattern of DNA, but she didn't know enough to see any difference in the two.

The Doctor and Thrax, however, both leaned forward. The Doctor put his glasses on. _That means something's up_. Rose thought.

"There are changes!" Thrax declared. "But this shows no taint of Chaos. The pattern is a Xeno one. How can this be?"

"May I?" Asked the Doctor.

"Of course. Do you need my access code?"

"Don't think so. The password the Emperor gave me should still work. There we go - 'The Doctor – Unlimited Access' - I love unlimited access. Now then...There! See that?"

A third pattern had appeared, Thrax reacted with shock. "Not possible!" He exclaimed.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Said the Doctor. "But nothing's impossible, not really. Unless I can't do it.

"D'you see that, Captain Titus?"

"I see it," replied the Ultramarine in a deep, quiet voice, "but I lack the skill to interpret it."

"Well," the Doctor put on his lecturing voice. "This one here is yours from the archives at Macragge. That bit is the geneseed add-ons, just ignore it. This bit is you, Titus, the DNA your parents gave you.

"This one is your current DNA pattern, taken by the Throne just now. But it's different, it's expanded, changed.

"But _this_ one is mine! I gave a sample to the Emperor once, I think he was hoping to create some geneseed out of it, get a TimeLord Primarch. Imagine a Chapter of Time Marines! But you can't do that with TimeLord DNA – too complicated.

"Do you see?"

Titus nodded. "Parts of my current DNA are identical with yours, Lord."

"Just Doctor. What do you remember about your parents, Captain?"

Titus' eyes turned inward. "It's more than seventy years since I left my home, Doctor. Unlike many Chapters, the Ultramarines recruit from more than one world. I was born on an agri-world, my parents were farmers. But such worlds are not immune from service. I was no more than two Standard years old when my father went away to war. That's what my mother would tell me – he 'went away to war'. I barely remember him. She was a kind, hard-working woman, respected in our community, but she never married again.

"Then as an adolescent, I underwent the Trial, and was chosen to become an Ultramarine. The last I saw of my mother was as the boarding-hatch of the Thunderhawk closed and I began my journey to Macragge."

"You've never been back?" Rose was incredulous. "All those years, and you never visited your Mum?"

Titus stared at her. "The family of a Space Marine are his battle-brothers, My Lady. The Chapter is home, parents, siblings. The Initiation changes us in many ways, and my mother would not know me as her son. It is better that we do not return to our birthplaces, unless duty compels us."

"That is so sick!" Rose declared. "And so sad!"

"I told the Emperor that." The Doctor said. "He told me he knew, but he had no choice. The danger to humanity was so great, he had to let a few make a sacrifice, so that the majority wouldn't have to."

"Then you are he?" Titus asked. "The Doctor, the Lord of Time, the Friend of the Emperor?"

"That's me, but it's just 'Doctor'. And don't do that!" The last command was addressed to the Templar Captain, who had made to kneel.

"Titus," he went on, "I think your father must have been a TimeLord, like me. It used to happen sometimes. Some of us fell for humans, had families. But when your father went to war, it was a different war – the Time War – and he couldn't come back. That's down to me. I had to Time-Lock the entire war, including my own people, to save the Universe.

"But before he left, he must have put you into the Chameleon Arch of his TARDIS. It would have rewritten your DNA to be completely human, disguised your alien heritage. But when you came into close contact with Warp energies, your body had to defend itself, so it released some of the TimeLord DNA. The Warp can't touch us, we evolved on Gallifrey, near the Untempered Schism, a hole into the heart of Time. Compared to that, the Eye of Terror is a small anomaly!"

"So," Titus said, "I am no heretic?"

"You are not." Thrax noted with solemn finality. "But we still face a quandary. You have alien genes, Captain, and while the _Ordo Hereticus_ finds no taint in you, the _Ordo Xenos_ may think otherwise. What do you advise, Doctor?"

The Doctor thought for a moment, then said in a more authoritative voice than he usually used:

"Lord Inquisitor Thrax, as a Lord of Terra and High Councillior of the Imperium, I command that you surrender to me custody of Captain Titus, Second Company, Ultramarines."

Thrax inclined his head. "Doctor, I surrender custody of Captain Titus to you."

The Doctor sketched a bow, then turned to Titus. "Captain Titus, will you give me your _parole_ of conduct?"

"You have it, Doctor." Titus seemed to be catching on to the situation quicker than Rose, who was not quite sure what was going on.

"Right!" Said the Doctor. "All done! The _Ordo Xenos_ can whistle for you now!

"Thrax, you implied there was something else you wanted to speak to me about?"

The Inquisitor gestured to the door. "There is an item in our Aumbry I would have you examine, Doctor. Follow me, please."

Thrax led off, Captain Bois-Guilbert alongside him, the Doctor on the other side. Rose tailed along. As the Doctor reached the door, he turned back. "Coming, Titus?"

The Ultramarine rose and joined them without a word. For a while, they walked in silence, then Titus spoke quietly to Rose.

"I am sorry to have distressed you, My Lady. It did not occur to me that you would be unaware of the manner of life of the _Adeptus Astartes_."

"Call me Rose, I'm not a lady, Captain." She smiled up at him. "I wasn't upset as much as shocked. The Doctor and I travel all over the Universe, all through Time and Space, you know. But I always know my Mum's at home, and I know whenever I go back there, she'll have a cuppa and a sandwich for me. I couldn't do it if I didn't know that."

"We each find our strength from different places, Rose." Titus told her. "Yet, if I remain in the Doctor's custody, I might find myself at your home. Would your mother have a 'cuppa and a sandwich' for me, do you think?"

Rose laughed. "Bloke like you? Pot of tea and a loaf of sarnies! Plus anything else you might take a fancy to! You don't know my Mum!"

"I should be interested to meet her." Titus gave a slight smile.

"Shut up." Rose told him with a grin.

Then they rounded a corner to meet with two figures coming in the opposite direction. One was another of the ubiquitous Black Templars, the other was a tallish, robust-looking woman with handsome features and thick dark hair, wearing some kind of military uniform. Her eyes widened at the sight of the Ultramarine.

"Titus!" She came quickly up to him, then stopped short, putting out a hand but not quite touching him. "I thought they had..." She began, then clearly couldn't say any more.

"Mira?" Titus seemed puzzled. "Why are you here?"

Thrax explained. "I thought it best to place Lieutenant Mira under protective custody, Captain. She was a witness to many of your actions on Graia, but much of her testimony ran counter to that of your accuser. The Inquisition has encountered fabricated or exaggerated accusations before, and we have learned to take precautions."

"Leandros would not..." Titus began.

It was the Templar Captain, Bois-Guilbert, who interrupted. "We cannot know that for sure, Brother." he said in his soft tones. "The death of a Veteran Sergeant, and the removal of his Company Captain, can open many paths for an ambitious young Marine, one who feels himself worthy of greater things. Despite all our changes, you know as I do, Brother, that we remain human, and prone to temptation. Imperial Guardsmen die by the millions every day, and there remain pockets of Ork and Chaos Marine resistance on Graia. It would have been a simple and obvious thing for Brother Leandros to order the Lieutenant into one of the more dangerous sectors.

"The clean-up of Graia, and the enforcement of the quarantine, has been left in the hands of the Blood Ravens. Your Company has been ordered back to Macragge. You need have no fear for your battle-brothers, Titus, but a full report of Leandros' actions has been sent to your Chapter Master."

Rose moved beside the Doctor and spoke quietly. "These blokes don't sound like Marines. At least any Marines I ever heard of!"

"You mean they're not all 'hut-hut' and 'sir, yes, sir'?" The Doctor asked. "These aren't just jarheads out of _Full Metal Jacket_, Rose. The genetic modifications increase their IQ way beyond that of a normal human. They have to fight some of the most dangerous creatures in the Universe in some of the most hostile environments going, they need to be bright. But believe me, in battle, these Marines are hard-core!"

Rose glanced back to where Titus and Mira walked side by side, talking softly. "Those two really like each other." She observed. "Are _Adeptus Astartes_ allowed to date? For that matter, are there any female Space Marines?"

"The geneseed won't take on women." The Doctor told her. "All the Primarchs were male. The male DNA is simpler, more robust, in most species, easier to muck about with. I told the Emperor He should get Himself some daughters, and He did intend to. It was one of the things He was going to work on once He'd got the human Webway working. But then the civil war started, and He never got the chance."

"He got killed?" Rose felt a pang of sympathy - yet another friend the Doctor had lost.

"Sort of, and sort of not." The Doctor gestured vaguely. "It's complicated."

"As to this matter of 'dating'." Thrax broke in. "If I understand what you mean by it correctly, Rose, it is less a matter of permission than possibility. The majority of Imperial citizens live what you would call normal lives, on one world, in communities. They go about that part of their lives as men and women have always done, according to the customs of those communities.

"But Imperial Guard and Space Marines must go where their duty takes them, and the Galaxy is vast. The chances of Titus and Mira meeting again, if both return to duty, are remote at best." He sighed. "Guardsmen seek comfort and release where they can, as soldiers always have, or form relationships within their own ranks. Space Marines are different, they are such as to inspire awe rather than affection in women. There are tales of such things happening; some are merely fantasies, others bittersweet stories of love and loss, others are tragedies. How many may be true, I do not know."

By now, they had come to a large double door. Before it floated two devices, which promptly approached the group. Rose was faintly sickened to see that the core of both devices was a human skull. One floated in front of them, and a red beam from a lens implanted into one eye-socket scanned them up and down. Then a quiet voice said: "Identity confirmed. The Doctor, plus one."

"Yuk!" Rose muttered.

"Servo-skulls," the Doctor told her. "the final reward for worthy citizens. To continue serving the Emperor after death."

Rose didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"This is the Aumbry," Thrax announced. "the vault where we store items for study. Come here, Doctor."

The thing looked like some kind of high-tech sarcophagus. Inside it lay the body of a middle-sized man in some kind of priest's robes, with a massive wound in one side of his head.

"The late Inquisitor Drogan," Thrax explained, "found this body, and what went with it, at the start of the Xenos invasion. He duly reported the matter, placed the body in this Stasis Chamber, and concealed both in a secret store. We recovered them before we left Graia. The scan of this body reveals him to be a TimeLord. Do you know him, Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded grimly. "They call him 'The Monk', or 'The Meddler'. I crossed swords with him a few times. He had this idea that he could change the future by stealing technology – usually weapons – and taking them back into the past. What was he doing on Graia?"

"Graia is a Forge-World." Titus said. "Manufactorum Ajakis builds many weapons for the Imperium. This Meddler may have intended to use the confusion of the Ork Waagh to help himself to some choice items."

Thrax seemed puzzled. "I have read that your race does not die, Doctor. That you regenerate yourselves."

The Doctor shrugged. "Most of the time, we do. But we can choose not to. Also, if we die instantly, we don't have time to regenerate. That takes some doing, though, we're a tough species."

Titus pointed to the wound. "Ork Boyz hit hard and fast, Doctor. This Meddler was dead before he hit the ground.

"Inquisitor, there is something else in this room. I can _feel_ it. Something is calling to me!"

Thrax shared a look with the Doctor, who turned and walked to a large metal cabinet that stood nearby. He put a hand out to Thrax, "Do you have the key?"

Thrax gave the small object to him. "I took it from the body myself. Drogan was not sure what it was."

_Of course,_ Rose realised, _where there's a TimeLord, there'll be a TARDIS._

"Follow me," the Doctor said, and vanished into the cabinet. Rose followed at once and, after a moments' hesitation, so did the others, the two _Astartes_ having to duck to get in.

Rose, who knew what to expect, took time to enjoy the expressions on the others' faces. Mira was simply astonished. Thrax was clearly intensely interested and curious. Bois-Guilbert reached up and removed his helmet, revealing a heavily handsome, olive-skinned face, thick dark hair and a neat beard. He looked about him with something close to awe. Titus looked..._He looks like a man who's come home! _Rose thought.

She looked about herself. This was clearly a TARDIS control room; it had the high, vaulted space, the stairs to the other rooms, and the hexagonal console in the centre. But it was very different from the Doctor's. There was a sort of medieval feel to the place, the walls and arches had the texture of stone, reminding Rose of a ruined abbey she had visited as a child on a school trip. Scattered around were tables and drawing boards full of papers and books. There were odd, three-dimensional diagrams with certain lines picked out in red.

The Doctor was looking at these and shaking his head. "He was always one of those who thought you could structure time." He said to nobody in particular. "But you can't. Unless it's a fixed point, the outcome is never what you think it'll be."

"Why is it so dim?" Rose wanted to know. "And cold?"

The Doctor sighed. "She's dying." He said sadly. "A TARDIS isn't just a machine, Rose, it's a living thing. All the technology, all the...stuff...that's just to support the passenger and make the travel easier. But they bond with TimeLords, and if their partner dies..."

Titus appeared to make a decision. Moving to the console, he stripped off one of his armoured gloves and laid a large, bare hand on the metal surface. All at once, the familiar background hum that Rose had been unaware she was missing started up. The lights perceptibly brightened and a flood of illumination swept up the central column of the console.

"Oh, she likes _you_!" Crowed the Doctor. "Must be the TimeLord DNA. Makes you irresistible! I should know."

"Shut up." Rose told him. "Titus, it's recognised you as a TimeLord. You've brought it back!"

Titus turned from the console. "I could hear it. All the time I've been here, in the back of my mind. Like a child crying."

Mira was staring at Titus. "And no true man," she breathed, "can hear a child crying and not wish to help or comfort it."

The lights were continuing to brighten, the hum growing louder. Much louder, something wasn't right. Then the doors opened of their own accord.

"Everybody out!" Yelled the Doctor. "This thing is regenerating!"

Rose had seen the Doctor regenerate, and she didn't want to be caught in a TARDIS undergoing a similar process. She legged it for the door, the others following. Once they were out, the doors slammed shut. Rose noticed that during the flight, Mira must have grabbed Titus' unarmoured hand, and she showed no signs of letting go any time soon.

"What just occurred?" Demanded Thrax.

"New partner." The Doctor explained. "That TARDIS was dying. But when it recognised Titus, it revived. Rather than repair itself, it decided to regenerate."

Before he could say any more, every alarm on the ship went off.

Captain Bois-Guilbert resumed his helmet and swung the heavy weapon that had been slung at his side into a fighting position. "Report!" He barked. A voice seemed to come out of the air.

"My Lord, this is Commodore Kraxis. An extremely large Xenos ship of unknown configuration has just appeared off our starboard bow. My Lord, it did not drop out of the Warp, it simply appeared!

"Priority alert! We are being boarded!"

"Captain!" A different voice. "This is Sergeant Fulke, the boarders are Nec.." The transmission ended in a horrid buzzing screech.

"Necrons!" Titus spat the word as if it was a curse, letting go of Miras' hand and putting his glove back on.

Bois-Guilbert was speaking rapidly but calmly as he moved toward another large door opposite the Aumbry. "All Templars! Defend priority areas, the bridge and the engine room."

The servo-skull mounted above the door recognised the Templar Captain and the door opened. The group moved into a large room lined with weapon racks and ammunition boxes. Bois-Guilbert indicated a table on which several weapons lay.

"Titus, there are your Power-Axe , Bolt Pistol and Storm Bolter. There is also the new weapon you brought from Graia, but we have no extra ammunition for it." As Titus moved to take up the weapons, Bois-Guilbert turned to Mira. "Lieutenant, your personal weapons are stored elsewhere. Can you use a Marine Bolt-Pistol?"

"I can try." Mira replied.

Bois-Guilbert handed her his own weapon – in her hands it looked more like a sub-machine gun. "Use it well," he admonished, "I will take this Melta-Gun. Inquisitor?"

Thrax had picked up a weapon that looked like a cross between a cutlass and a chainsaw. "It's been a while, Captain, but I think I recall how to use this! I have my Plasma Pistol." He turned to the Doctor and Rose. "It is on record, Doctor, that you are a man who fights with wit rather than weapons. Is there anything you can do?"

"Necrons, Necrons..." The Doctor scratched his head. "Robot bodies animated by the shreds of long-dead minds. Necrodermis, almost indestructible, self-repairing. Gauss weapons. Nodal command system. Teleport and phase technology. Your basic Warriors and Immortals are fearless, obedient, and a little bit thick.

"If you can get me to a control panel, I can do something."

"The Secondary Bridge is on this level." Thrax informed him. "Captains, lead the way!"

Things were getting noisy, Rose noticed. Sounds of weapons, shouted orders, the hideous noise of what she took to be Necron weapons, and the occasional scream. But the group met no opposition until Bois-Guilbert came to an archway, looked through, then held up his hand. There was clearly a battle-royal going on in the next room.

"The Secondary Bridge is beyond that chamber." He told them. "But several Necrons are attempting to enter it past the Templar guards. If we strike from behind, we may have a momentary advantage."

"I think I can stretch that," the Doctor said, "give me a second."

He took out his sonic screwdriver and fiddled with it for a moment, then activated it.

"There! If you stay within five metres of this, they won't be able to detect you."

The Necrons looked like metal skeletons, carrying weird-looking guns. They reminded Rose of the Terminator from the films, without his human disguise. As the Doctor had said, they seemed unaware of their advance until the two Marines, Mira and the Inquisitor opened fire simultaneously. The robots seemed thrown into confusion, and fell quickly.

"Remain on guard!" Bois-Guilbert ordered the two remaining Templars, and the group entered the control room. The Templar Captain went straight to a panel and demanded, "Report!"

"Commodore Kraxis, My Lord. The enemy appear to be concentrating their attacks on both bridges and the engine room. We are holding for now."

Bois-Guilbert turned back to his companions. "They seem to be trying to disable the ship, or at least prevent us from warping out." He said, then Rose gave a scream. Some sort of insubstantial form had risen out of the panel behind the Templar and thrust an intangible blade through his body. Bois-Guilbert stared at the weapon for a second, then there was a flash, and the thing turned solid. The Templar coughed up blood and slumped, even as the thing that had struck him vanished, only to reappear almost instantly, swooping down on the paralysed Mira.

Then the Doctor was there, pointing his sonic screwdriver at the Necron. It froze in mid-air suddenly both solid and immobile. It was just a head, arms and shoulders, with a dangling spine, and it struggled frantically, in horrible silence, against the force that held it.

"Titus!" Snapped the Doctor. The Ultramarine raised a weapon and fired twice. Each shot released a glowing blue cylinder that clung to the target. Titus did something else to the weapon, and the cylinders detonated, shattering the Necron.

Rose dashed over to Bois-Guilbert. He had struggled into a half-sitting position against the panel and managed to pull off his helmet. Rose knelt beside him.

"Are you OK?" She asked, then thought, _God, I am so thick! Of course he isn't OK!_

"I think not," Bois-Guilbert replied. Then he looked up as Titus' shadow loomed over them. "An unusual but effective weapon, that Vengeance Launcher."

"The _Adeptus Mechanicus_ of Graia have excelled themselves." Titus agreed. "Are you well, Brother?"

"I am dying." Replied the Templar matter-of-factly. "The wound might heal, but the molecular disruption of the phase effect has damaged too much. My battle-brothers will see to it that I am remembered."

"The death of an _Astartes_ is never forgotten." Titus replied solemnly. "The Necrons will pay in blood for this one!"

"Then I am content." Clearly weakening by the second, and in some pain, if the sweat on his brow was any sign, Bois-Guilbert was still soft-spoken as he turned to Rose. "It has been an honour to serve with you, Lady Rose, and the Lord of Time. I hope that in your further journeys, you will remember me?"

"Always." Rose promised, then impulsively, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

"The last one who did that," whispered the Templar, "was my mother..." His eyes glazed over. Titus reached down and gently closed them. Rose got to her feet, dashing tears from her own eyes, and looked for the Doctor.

He was standing at the main control panel, his fingers flying over the keys. "There!" He announced. "That should block their teleport and phasing. Now, ship-wide transmission...This signal will stop their self-repair, and this one should mess up their control systems! Ha! Am I a genius or what?"

Thrax didn't, Rose noticed, go near that one! Instead he spoke into a microphone. "Status report?"

"My Lord, this is Sergeant Gareth. The Necrons have stopped fighting. They appear to be frozen in place, unresponsive. The bridge and engine room are secure, but enemy Scarabs have crippled our drives, and the Necrons' main ship is approaching!"

Thrax switched on the main viewer, and Rose gasped. "My God!" She breathed. "It's _huge_!"

"Approximately ten times the size of this Battle-Barge." Thrax noted.

The thing was a colossal metal pyramid, and it was moving, ponderously but unstoppably, toward the _Scourge of Heresy_. As they watched, a vast panel in the side of the pyramid facing them opened, sending a flood of greenish light out into space. Then Commodore Kraxis' voice came again. "My Lords! We are being drawn in! Immensely powerful tractor beams!"

"Damn!" Said the Doctor. "If I change the shields to block the tractor, we'll be up to our necks in Necrons again! Necks in Necrons? That's bad even for me!" He studied some of the screens in front of him, then shook his head. "It's not us they're after, it's this ship! That hole we're being pulled into is the entrance to a breaking-yard. They've got stuff in there that will slice this ship up like salami and pull the bits apart, whatever I do to the shields!"

Thrax appeared to reach a decision, speaking firmly into the microphone: "Attention! This is Inquisitor Thrax. Our position is indefensible. All surviving crew members and _Astartes_ are to report to the Saviour Pods at once. Take only what you can carry. Give Servitors and the gravely wounded the Emperor's Peace, and abandon ship!"

"What are you going to do?" Asked the Doctor.

"I intend to let the Necrons draw this ship into theirs, then overload the Warp engines. With any luck, the explosion will destroy both ships."

"And how are you going to get out?" Rose wanted to know.

"I am not," said Thrax gravely "the engines can only be overloaded manually, so I must remain here." He held up a hand against any protest. "I am no longer a young man, I have served the Imperium for over ninety Standard years. But lately I have been unwell, and the Apothecaries tell me that I will not last another year. In this way, I can serve my Emperor in death as well as in life.

"Now, Lord Doctor and Lady Rose, you must return to your TARDIS. Captain Titus remains in your custody and must accompany you. Lieutenant Mira, as senior military officer present, you must escort our guests to safety.

"Farewell, it has been an honour!"

Thrax turned back to the controls with an air of finality. Rose looked at the Doctor, who hesitated a moment, then went up to Thrax and spoke quickly, urgently into his ear for several minutes. When he had finished, Thrax looked at him with a smile that, for once, held no trace of sadness, yet there were tears in the old mans' eyes. "Truth?" He asked.

"My word." The Doctor declared.

"Thank you, Doctor. Now go!"

They went, dashing along the gloomy corridors. _Thought we hadn't done enough running today!_ Rose reflected. Then suddenly there was the sound of tearing metal from some distance away.

"They've started to cut the ship up!" Mira shouted. "Why has Thrax not detonated the engines?"

"He's giving us time to get clear!" The Doctor yelled. "Leg it!"

Ahead of them, Rose saw the room where the TARDIS had landed. Then suddenly Titus grabbed both her and the Doctor by the scruffs, and threw them several metres forward. They got to their feet and looked back to see that the corridor had been sliced across. A ten-foot chasm belched smoke, flames and electric arcs between them and their friends.

"Go!" Bellowed Titus.

In answer the Doctor pulled a small object out of his pocket and threw it over the gap. Titus caught it deftly, examined it, then stared at the Doctor.

"Look after them both!" The Doctor shouted, then seized Roses' hand and dragged her away toward the TARDIS and safety.

Mira looked at Titus, who simply said, "Come!" and made off down a side corridor. Within moments, they had reached the Aumbry, but even as they fled, the ship showed signs of falling apart around them. The door of the Inquisitions' store-room hung open, and Titus led her in, straight to the cabinet they had entered before, the other TARDIS. The object the Doctor had given Titus, Mira realised, must have been the key! The cabinet had expanded, so that the towering Ultramarine was able to enter without ducking. Inside the space seemed even more massive but it had changed. Instead of stonework and gloom, there were clean lines of white metal and a clear, soft light.

Titus strode over to the control console, stripping off his gloves as he did so. He placed his hands on the panel and closed his eyes, then murmured "Yes, yes. I understand." Without hesitation, he began moving around the console, flipping switches, adjusting dials and pulling levers. Something began to rise and fall inside the transparent central column. There was a whooshing, whirring, roaring sound that grew louder, then settled to a bearable volume. Titus turned and directed Mira's attention to a viewscreen on the wall.

For a moment, she saw the gigantic black pyramid hanging in space. Then part of it seemed to twist in on itself, tearing away from the rest and vanishing. The _Scourge of Heresys_' overloaded Warp engines had exploded, creating a temporary Warp Gate into which most of the Necron ship had been pulled. As they watched, the rest simply fell apart, some of it burning in space.

"Well, that's that!" Came a cheerful voice. Looking round, Mira saw another viewscreen out of which the Doctor and Rose were smiling at them from a control room like, but unlike, the one in which she now stood.

"Why, Doctor?" Titus asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "You bonded with that TARDIS, Titus. Without you, it would have died, and you'd have died without it! Now, you've got a whole Universe to explore and get into trouble in, you and Mira!" Suddenly, he became more serious. "Titus, you're half TimeLord, this is in your blood. There are things you need to do, things I can't do. I'm no fighter, and some problems can't be resolved by fiddling with machines or talking people's ears off. Sometimes, the only solution is naked force, applied by somebody who knows how, and more importantly, when!"

Rose had been using a small device she had pulled from her pocket. Now she looked up and as she did so, there was a chiming sound. A small screen on the console lit up, showing a string of words and numbers.

"That's my Mums' address, including the planet and year." She told them. "Drop in for a cuppa sometime, just tell her you're friends of mine! Her name's Jackie, Jackie Tyler."

The screen went blank. Titus turned to Mira. "We should go back. You to your regiment, I to Macragge."

"Are we not done with duty?" Mira asked, a tinge of bitterness in her voice.

"Only in death does duty end." Titus quoted the _Codex Astartes_. Mira shook her head and indicated the viewscreen, the slowly-expanding globe of wreckage.

"As far as the Imperium is concerned, Titus, we died heroic deaths aboard the _Scourge of Heresy_. If we turn up in a Xeno spacecraft, having somehow survived a Warp explosion, we will be back where we began today. Will the Lord of Time be there to save us again, my friend, my very dear friend?"

Titus smiled quietly. "I would not take you anywhere against your will, Mira, I wished only to know if you wanted to go back."

"What I want," Mira stated, "is to wash and get out of this uniform! I expect you would be relieved to shed that armour, Space Marine!"

"Up those stairs, third door on the right." Titus told her. "I do not know how I know, but you will find everything you require there."

For the first time since she was a child, Mira bathed, rather than showering. To lie, at leisure, in warm, scented water, alone rather than surrounded by other soldiers was ultimate luxury! Afterwards, she considered herself in the unaccustomed further luxury of a full-length mirror. The life of a Cadian shock-trooper is hard, but conducive to maintaining a body in excellent condition. She had collected a few scars, but fewer than many, a tribute to her skill and luck. Then she examined the extensive collection of clothing the room held. Eventually, she chose a blue garment of some silken material. It fastened on the left shoulder with a small, silver brooch, but left the right shoulder bare; there was a silver cord to pull it in at the waist and it left most of her legs bare. With it went a pair of silver sandals.

When she returned to the control room, Titus was not there, but he came in shortly afterwards, wearing leather boots, well-fitting trousers of a sturdy blue cloth, and a t-shirt similar to the ones worn under uniform jackets, except that this one was pristine white.

"This Meddler seems to have been a collector." He remarked. "There are rooms full of weapons here."

He stopped, and his eyes wandered over Mira's frame, lingering on the long muscular legs as she sat with them stretched in front of her. He cleared his throat, and said, "You'll need to find something more practical for when we do decide where to go."

"What's the matter, Ultramarine?" She asked. "Never seen a woman's legs before?"

"Never in such length or detail!" He replied, then smiled slyly. "Clearly, this opens up a new field of study for me. An entire Universe of female underpinning to compare and contrast."

"Shut up." She told him.

Titus grinned at her, then turned back to the controls. "Where should we go first?" He asked. "I've heard of a planet where the Xenos have no noses."

"How do they smell?" Mira asked, falling for it.

"Worse than Orks, I understand." He replied.

Mira looked round for something to throw at him.

_Bloody shopping!_ Thought Jackie Tyler. It wasn't so much the prices – under Prime Minister Harriet Jones, inflation was minimal and incomes were on the rise – but the uncertainty. Jackie never knew how many she'd be feeding. Rose came and went at random, bringing the Doctor with her, _And that man can eat for three, for all there's hardly anything of him!_ And if it wasn't Rose, it was Mickey!

She turned the corner, heading for the flat, and was suddenly surrounded by young men. She recognised them; a gang of teenage and twenty-something tearaways who called themselves 'The Skulls' and tried to act like a New York street gang off the telly. Well, if they wanted to try it on with Jackie Tyler, they'd bitten off more than they could chew.

"Yo, Mama!" Said the leader, a skinny kid with a pockmarked face. "You want to live in our flats, you gotta pay the rent, yeah?"

"I pay my rent to the Council, thank you." Jackie told him flatly.

"Yeah, but the Council won't kick your door in and set fire to the flat if you don't pay." The lad sneered. "We will. So cough up, missus!"

Jackie carefully put her shopping down and took a firmer grip on her handbag. If this little git thought he was going to scare her...

A huge shadow fell over the little group, and a deep voice asked. "Is there a problem here?"

The speaker was well over seven feet tall, Jackie judged, but at that he looked squat because of the immense breadth of his shoulders. He was wearing Dr Martens, jeans, a white t-shirt and a black leather jacket. His face was broad, strong and pleasant looking, but the expression he bent on the Skulls was stern and unyielding.

"I'm sure these boys can find somewhere else to play, Titus." This was a woman's voice. As she came to stand beside the man, Jackie knew that there was going to be trouble. The woman was about six feet tall, fit and strong-looking, with dark hair tied back to show her strong, attractive features, lightly but effectively made up. She was wearing embroidered jeans with a matching denim jacket over a fitted check shirt and suede boots. Formidable, but still a woman, one who had challenged these lads.

"Get him, Liam!" Spat the gang leader. "Then we'll teach this slapper not to be cheeky!"

Liam, a hulking, red-haired brute, went for the man called Titus, swinging a bike chain for his head. The giant calmly reached out, caught the chain in mid-swing, deftly wrapped it round his wrist and used it to yank Liam into reach. Then he picked the lad up with one hand and threw him hard into a nearby wall. Meanwhile the woman had effortlessly downed the leader, using some kind of particularly vicious martial arts technique. The Skulls fled in disorder.

_What planet are these two from?_ Jackie wondered as the man came up to her, smiling down.

"Jackie Tyler?" He asked. "I'm Titus and this is my girlfriend, Mira. We're friends of Rose. She said we could drop in for a cuppa?"


End file.
